Linen and Stripes: Our Union Jack Family Tale

The Union Jack trend has been there for years now. And as much as I wanted to pass on it…I have to admit, when it’s well done, it can be charming, funky, girly, manly or even smart looking.

A little over a year ago, my husband brought back from London a toy for my son. It was a little car. A British Racing green Mini Cooper with the Union Jack on top of the roof…you know which one, right? My son loved it so much! Maybe because the name was easy for him to pronounced “Mini” (he was 14 month old at that time) This car become one of his favorites and he start collecting some more “minis” but he always came back to his “first Mini Cooper love”, the “Mini-on Jack”, his very own way of saying Mini Union Jack. From then on, every time he saw a Union Jack flag he would scream “Minion Jack, Minion Jack” and, of course, seeing it everywhere and on everything, he start asking for some more Union Jack for his bedroom, too.

I was still passing on this “Minion Jack wanting thing” for a long time until I realized that I should be proud of his good taste at his very young age (he is now two and a half years old) He never asked for any character theme bedroom from a cartoon or a movie. Instead he asked for a Union Jack.

Now, I’m convinced and decide to reward him (after his very first week of school ever) with a Union Jack cushion (easier to throw away if he has enough of it than a chest of drawers!) The only problem, the royal bleu, white and red thing would have to go. It wouldn’t look nice in his bedroom. So here I am shopping on the web, looking for something nice, not to pricey but also with softer colors…

That is when I end up sewing a cream, tan and chocolate brown Union Jack (after not founding anything I liked at a good price and/or with the right colors and material on this side of the planet) and praying for my son to recognized his beloved “Minion Jack”

My home made tan wool, cream cotton and chocolate brown velvet "Minion Jack"

I wish I had taken the picture of his face when he saw the cushion…he LOVED it! He was so proud of it that he didn’t want to put it in his bedroom! He instead decided to put it in our living room where the whole family could enjoy it (and I’m loving it there, too).
Now, every single day, my son goes to the living room to hug the cushion saying “good morning minion jack” and “night, night minion jack” with the brightest smile on his face. I can tell that he really loves it!!!